Belgrade, 20. 02. 2008.

KOSOVOS INDEPENDENCE – INT. RECOGNITION AND REACTIONS

• AUSTRIAN GOVERNMENT RECOGNIZES KOSOVO INDEPENDENCE
• NORWAY DECIDES TO RECOGNIZE UNILATERAL KOSOVO INDEPENDENCE
• LAVROV: DOUBLE STANDARDS IN CASE OF KOSOVO
• BISHKEK - UNILATERAL INDEPENDENCE STRENGTHENS SEPARATISM
• REHN, RUPEL - FORGET KOSOVO, TURN TO EU

• SERBIAN FM ADDRESSES PROTEST NOTES TO LATVIA, SENEGAL
• JEREMIC: CE TO BREECH PRINCIPLES IF KIM MEMBERSHIP CONSIDERED
• JEREMIC: KOSOVO LEFT TO TYRANT, SIEZED FROM DEMOCRATS
• JEREMIC: SERBIAN AUTHORITIES DO NOT SUPPORT VIOLENCE
• SPASOJEVIC CALLS FOR OBSERVATION OF SERBIA'S SOVEREIGNTY
• DJELIC THANKS ROMANIA FOR RESPECTING INTERNATIONAL LAW
• DJELIC: SERBIA CONTINUES TO CREDIT COMPANIES IN KOSOVO
• PROTESTS HELD THROUGHOUT SERBIA ON WEDNESDAY

• SERBIAN MINISTER VISITS SERBS IN KOSOVO REGION
• DINKIC: ACTION PLAN FOR FULL ECONOMIC SOVEREIGNTY
• DINKIC ON RECOVERY OF ELEVEN COMPANIES IN KOSOVO
• DJILAS: STATE MUST PROVIDE CONCRETE ECONOMIC HELP
• SERBIA TO AID KOSOVO SERBS IN SPRING SOWING

• UNMIK, KFOR, KPS ON INCIDENTS IN NORTHERN KOSOVO
• DE MARNHAK: NORTH KOSOVO SERB LEADERS ARE BEHIND INCIDENTS
• CHECKPOINTS IN NORTHERN KOSOVO RE-OPEN KOSOVSKA
• KOSOVO PARLIAMENT ADOPTS LAW ON CITIZENSHIP

RECOGNITIONS OF THE "REPUBLIC OF KOSOVO" BY FOREIGN GOV.-S

• ALBANIA TO ESTABLISH DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH KOSOVO
• AUSTRALIA, SENEGAL AND TAIWAN RECOGNIZE KOSOVO

• DJELIC DOES NOT EXPECT WITHDRAWAL OF FOREIGN AMBASSADORS
• SERBIA ORDERS RECALL OF AMBASSADOR TO AUSTRALIA
• SAMARDZIC: WITDRAWAL OF AMBASSADORS - ACT OF DISAGREEMENT
• SAMARDZIC: ACTIONS AT CHECKPOINTS TALLY WITH GOV'T POLICY
• JEREMIC TO ADDRESS CE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS
• SIMIC DELIVERS PROTEST NOTE TO FRANCE
• SEVERAL SERBIAN MINISTERS TO VISIT KOSOVO ON FEB. 20

• TADIC URGES HALTING VIOLENT PROTESTS
• TADIC WANTS NON-PARTISAN KOSOVO PROTESTS AND CALLS FOR PEACE

• STANISEV: NOT POSSIBLE FOR KOSOVO TO BECOME UN MEMBER
• BASESCU: NOT POSSIBLE TO ADOPT ANOTHER UN RES. ON KOSOVO

• RECOGNISING KOSOVO'S INDEPENDENCE WRONG
• EU DAMAGES STABILITY, INCITES SEPARATISM
• BORODAVKIN ON REPRESSIVE MEASURES AGAINST NON-ALBANIANS
• CHURKIN: UNMIK PRESENCE HIGHLIGHTS ILLEGALITY

• STATE DEPARTMENT: US WILL NOT WITHDRAW ITS AMBASSADOR
• CAPLOVIC CALLS KOSOVO DROGO'S- LAND OF DRUGS
• BAKU WARN YEREVAN NOT TO RECOGNISE INDEPENDENT KOSOVO

• SANADER: NOT UP TO CROATIA TO MAKE WORSE FOR SERBIA
• DODIK CALLS FOR LEVEL-HEADED REACTION

• THACI: SITUATION IN NORTHERN KOSOVO UNDER CONTROL
• IVANKO: UN POLICE AND CUSTOMS RETURN TO THE CHECKPOINTS AFTER 24 H
• RUECKER: RES. 1244 REMAINS LEGAL FRAMEFORK FOR UNMIK
• MITROVICA PRESS ARRIVES BY DETOUR FOREST ROUTES
• SITUATION IN NORTH KOSOVO DETERIORATES

TIRANA, Feb 19 (Tanjug) - The Albanian Council of Ministers on Tuesday decided to establish diplomatic relations between the Republic of Albania and "republic of Kosovo" at the ambassadorial level, the Albanian news agency ATA reported. Prime Minister Sali Berisha said on Monday that Albania recognised Kosovo as a sovereign and independent state and recalled that the Albanian parliament had recognised Kosovo's independence back in 1991. He said that Albania supported the Kosovo parliament's February 17 decision on the declaration of independence "taking into account people's right to self-determination and observing the principle of good neighbourly relations."

On Feb. 19, Kosovo received recognition from Australia, Taiwan, and Senegal, bringing the number of countries to have done so to nine. Several European countries plan to follow suit on Feb. 20. The breakaway province has so far been recognized by the U.S., UK, Turkey, Afghanistan, and Albania, in addition to the above countries. Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer has said his country will recognize Kosovo on Feb. 20, while Germany plans to do the same at its next cabinet meeting. Belgium, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Bulgaria, and Hungary also intend to recognize Kosovo. Poland has put off its decision, while Lithuania does not plan to decide before March 10. Of the former Yugoslav republics, BosniaHerzegovina has said it will not recognize Kosovo in the near future, while Slovenia and Croatia will be following the EU's lead. Montenegro and Macedonia are in no hurry to recognize the province. In the EU, Spain, Cyprus, Greece, Romania, and Slovakia are against supporting Kosovo's bid for independence. The same goes for two permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, China and Russia. Moldova, Azerbaijan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Vietnam, Libya, Burkina Faso, and South Africa are also opposed.

BELGRADE, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Djelic said evening that, after the withdrawal of Serbia's ambassadors from the countries that had recognised Kosovo, it was for those countries to decide wheteher they wanted to do the same, but added, however, that he did not expect that their ambassadors would withdraw from Belgrade. In an interview he said that Spain had the same stand as Serbia in regard to Kosovo and that its position was valuable for our country, adding that some other countries would also decide not to acknowledge Kosovo. "Romania has not only decided not to recognise Kosovo, but it has also closed its office in Pristina," Djelic said. Djelic pointed to the fact that a great number of officials of the countries that had already recognised or were about to recognise Kosovo were contacting our authorities to say that we should not regard that as an act of hostility towards Serbia and that they saw us as a member of the EU, which he qualified as hypocritical.

Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic has ordered the urgent recall for the purposes of consultations of the country's ambassador to Australia, Milivoj Glisic, and has sent notes of protest to the governments of France, the United Kingdom, Costa Rica, Australia and Albania, the Serbian Foreign Ministry announced. "The Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Serbia on Feb. 19 sent notes of protest to the governments of the Republic of France, Great Britain, Costa Rica, Australia and Albania over their recognition of the unilateral proclamation of the independence of Kosovo and Metohija," the announcement read. The press release specified that ambassadors were due to leave their host countries within 48 hours from the receipt of the notes of protest and return to Serbia "for consultations until further notice."

BELGRADE, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - Minister for Kosovo and Metohija Slobodan Samardzic has said that the withdrawal of Serbia's ambassadors from the countries that have recognised the independence of the southern Serbian province is the way for Serbia to express its disagreement with the moves those countries have made. In a late Tuesday broadcast by TV B92, Samardzic said that those countries "are violating the both the law and the customs," and added that "we cannot turn a deaf ear to this" and that Serbia could file a lawsuit against the countries with the International Court of Justice, assessing that such a gesture "is very important for demonstrating the readiness to defend the territory." Commenting on the criminal charges the Serbian Interior Ministery has filed against Hasim Taci, Fatmir Sejdiu and Jakup Krasnici for the serious crime committed against the constitutional order and the security of the Republic of Serbia, he underlined that those men "have violated the Constitution in the most drastic way" and that the "country is obliged to do that regardless of the fact whether or not that will be effectuated."

Serbian Kosovo and Metohija Minister Slobodan Samardzic said late on Feb. 19 that the actions by Serbs at two checkpoints on the Jarinje and Brnjak administrative line crossings had not been initiated from Belgrade, but that they were in accordance with the Serbian government's policy on taking over customs policy. Samardzic told Television B92 that the destruction of police checkpoints was a direct reaction by the population north of the Ibar River which does not recognize the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo.

"I believe that it is legitimate. It may not be nice, but it is legitimate," he said of the Feb. 19 actions of Serbs who vandalized UNMIK's customs checkpoints and torched several of the mission's vehicles. According to him, Serbia has to date had jurisdiction in the areas of education, social policy, culture and health care, but plans to expand that jurisdiction and, among other things, take over customs policy in northern Kosovo. "We did not arrange this way of taking over the customs checkpoints," he said, adding that around 15,000 people had gathered spontaneously and that it was important that noone had been hurt.

Samardzic pointed out another benefit of the actions at the checkpoints was the fact that UNMIK intended to transfer some of its customs jurisdiction to the EU mission and that Serbia could not allow the EU mission to take over the customs checkpoints. Asked if Belgrade's goal was a partitioning of Kosovo, Samardzic replied in the negative, pointing out that the goal was to sustain the existing situation Serbs having obligations to Serbia and the state to them. "That is a new regime of duality of government and it should be regulated in a peaceful manner," he stated, going on to say that the topic of the status was not current and that Belgrade had no hidden agenda.

PARIS, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic will address the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, on the occasion of the unilateral and illegal declaration of Kosovo independence. Jeremic will speak at a regular session of the foreign ministers of the CE member countries, at the level of permanent representatives, and he will also meet with CE Secretary General Terry Davis. Later in the day, the European Parliament is also supposed to hold a session in Strasbourg, at which it will discuss the stand this body of the European Union has on Kosovo.

PARIS, Feb 19 (Tanjug) - The Serbian ambassador in Paris on Tuesday afternoon delivered a protest note to the French Foreign Ministry, after France recognised Kosovo's independence. Ambassador Predrag Simic will return to Belgrade on Wednesday for "consultations" under the Serbian decision to recall ambassadors from the countries that recognise independence. Diplomatic activities will be taken over by a charge d'affaires who should arrive from Belgrade in the next few days. French Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pascale Andreani said that the recall of the French ambassador to Belgrade was not envisaged for the time being. "There is no automatism. Our ambassador in Belgrade is at the Embassy and I don't see that this will change," Andreani told reporters in Paris.

Several Serbian ministers will visit Kosovo on Feb. 20, as part of the government's current activities. Economy Minister Mladjan Dinkic will visit the factories Trepca, Lola and Prva Petoletka, which employ several thousand Serbs, and unveil his ministry's action plan for Kosovo. Labor and Social Policy Minister Rasim Ljajic will visit the villages of Ranilug and Gradjenik. The minister in charge of implementing the National Investment Plan, Djilas, and Agriculture Minister Milosavljevic will also be in Kosovo on Feb. 20. They will visit the Visoki Decani monastery and the towns of Orahovac, Velika Hoca and Kosovska Mitrovica.

BELGRADE, Feb 19 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Boris Tadic appealed Tuesday for immediate halting of violent protests and destruction of property in Serbian towns. Only peaceful and reasonable conduct will enable Serbia to defend its Kosovo by arguments. Any violence undermines the arguments and is harmful precisely to Serbia, he said. There must be no violence or endangering of human lives in Serbia, he said. Noting that any hasty action endangers the safety of the Serb community in Kosovo-Metohija, Tadic urged all to refrain from any violent provocations in order to enable state institutions to do their job. Rallies should not be organized by political parties as Kosovo is not a party issue but a national and state one. Kosovo must not be used for party purposes and promotions. It is an issue of Serbia's identity, sovereignty, territorial integrity, history and tradition, he said. Rallies should be organized by national institutions and should be addressed by renowned figures rather than by party leaders, he added. It is the job of the Serbian government to secure law and order and it should not organize rallies with political parties that would be addressed by party leaders, Tadic said on his return from the UN. In the UN Security Council, Tadic defended Serbia's state and national interests and made it clear that Serbia will never accept independence of its southern province, the president's press service said.

President Boris Tadic has said that he does not agree that the cabinet should team up with the leading political parties to organize rallies against Kosovo's declaration of independence, stressing that the Kosovo issue is unrelated to politics."Kosovo is not a partisan issue, it is one that affects the nation and state first and foremost. Kosovo must not be used for political gain by any party," Tadic said on Feb. 19. Stressing that Kosovo is about the identity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Serbia, the country's history and tradition, Tadic said that the rallies should be organized by the state and that none of the speakers should be leading politicians, but public personalities.He also called for an end to the wave of rioting that has led to considerable property damage in Serbia's cities, stressing that hasty actions could hurt the safety of Serbs in Kosovo. "Only peace and reasonable moves will give us an opportunity to defend our Kosovo with the strength of argumentation. Violence takes away our arguments and hurts only us," Tadic added. He called on the population to refrain from violent activities and allow the government to do its job.

SOFIA, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev has assessed it was not possible for Kosovo to become a UN member, given the position of Serbia and other countries. Kosovo for many years to come will not be a full member of the international community, Stanishev said, BTA news agency reported. He said that Bulgaria would do everything in its power for the European Union and NATO to be seriously committed to security in Kosovo, to protect minorities and to clearly implement the (UN special envoy Martti) Ahtisaari plan. That is one of Bulgaria's conditions and expectations for establishing official diplomatic relations, underlined Stanishev, who is also the leader of BSP.

BUCAREST, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - Romanian President Trajan Basescu has assessed it was not possible to adopt another UN SC resolution on Serbia, Kosovo, besides existing Resolution 1244. The Romanian president on Tuesday evening, in a telephone statement to public television, pointed out that all those who proceed from the assumption that Russia is the only one interested in a resolution on Kosovo are wrong and that the chief blockade was always set up by China, which, Basescu reminded, has problems with Taiwan. China will cotninue to pose a big problem in the UN Security Council, when it comes to the issue of Kosovo, Basescu said, Romanian news agency Rompres reported. Romania, according to Basescu, is one of the countries that is consistently supporting the idea that there can be no two Chinas. According to that analogy, we say there can be no two Albanias. I have not heard yet about a Kosovo people and this is about the creation of two Albanias."

MOSCOW, Feb 19 (Tanjug) - Russian President Vladimir Putin's representative for EU relations Sergei Yastrzemski said Tuesday that recognising unilateral declaration of Kosovo's independence is a "grave error" and that Russia had warned the EU not to take unlawful decisions regarding the Kosovo issue. "Only a blind person would not see the grievous consequences for Europe from the game being played out with Kosovo," he said, adding that there are many skeptics in the EU itself and that several states have taken a different stand. The differences between Russia and several leading EU contries regarding Kosovo independence will have "consequences" on relations between Moscow and the 27-nation bloc, he said. "It would be naive to believe that the position of the main EU member countries concerning Kosovo... would not appear as a problem in our relations with the EU," Yastrzemski said quoted by the Interfax agency. The Kosovo issue will be one of the main topics in forthcoming contacts between Russia and the EU. However, the differences over Kosovo will not lead to a new cold war between Moscow and Brussels, he said.

MOSCOW, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - Russia on Wednesday accused the European Union it was working to the detriment of stability in the Balkans and in Europe and, by pursuing a unilateral scenario for resolving the issue of Kosovo and Metohija, of inciting world separatism. By continuing to pursue a unilateral scenario for resolving the Kosovo issue, the EU is working to the detriment of stability in the Balkans and in Europe and is inciting separatism in the world, said Russian Foreign Ministry representative Mihail Kaminin, whom was commenting on the recommendations of the Council of the European Union that members individually take decisions whether to recognise the unilateral declaration of Kosovo independence. The conclusion of the Council of the European Union adopted on February 18 with respect to the self-proclamation of the independence of Kosovo constitutes a series of mutually exclusive thesis that contradict logic, Kaminin said, and added that the Council by its recommendations had set off a chain reaction of illegal recognitions of Kosovo as an independent state. According to him, also raising doubts is the Council's citing of international law and the assertion about the commitment of the European Union to the UN Charter and the principles of the Helsinki Final Act. In terms of the EU mission that is being prepared for Kosovo, Kaminin reiterated it was "without any legal basis."

VIENNA, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - Russia's Permanent Representative to the OSCE Aleksei Borodavkin has condemned the attempts of international representatives in Kosovo to launch repressive measures, contrary to their mandate, against the non-Albanians and their leaders in case they refuse to resign themselves to the illegal sovereignty of the Serbian province. A similar warning has also been sent to the temporary bodies of self government in Kosovo, Boroavkin said at a special session of the OSCE Permanent Council on Kosovo. He pointed out that the unilateral declaration of Kosovo-Metohija independence, as well as the recognition of that illegal act from the part of several OSCE member countries, represented the most serious foreign policy mistake that might have extremely negative consequences. The Russian diplomat expressed deepest concern over the developments in the Serb municipalities in Kosovo, particularly in the northern part of the province, in the region of Kosovska Mitrovica. It is highly probable that the refusal of the majority of local residents to recognise the unilaterally proclaimed independence may isolate these territories, the Russian diplomat underlined. In that case, Kosovo Albanians and the countries that support them will be responsible for the beginning of the Kosovo split, Itar-Tass quoted Borodavkin as saying.

MOSCOW, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - The presence of the UN Mission in Kosovo and Metohija highlights the illegality of activities of the Kosovo authorities and of those who have recognised the unilaterally declared independence, said on Wednesday Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin. Churkin added that UN Security Council Resolution 1244 would be in force as long as another one is adapted that replaces it and that "is not denied by any SC members." The presence of the Mission represents a material substantiation of the preservation of Resolution 1244 and it limits the unilaterally declared sovereignty, he said in an interview with Vremya Novostei. Responding to the question whether Russia can prevent Kosovo from becoming a UN member, Churkin said that under the UN Charter membership is realised thought he UN General Assembly on the recommendation of the UN SC, and that "Russia as a permanent UN SC members with veto power can block any such recommendation."

WASHINGTON, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - The US does not plan to withdraw its ambassador from Serbia, SD spokesman Sean Mc Cormack has said. Asked if plans were being made for a reciprocal action and withdrawal of the ambassador, Mc Cormak told a news conference that the answer was " for the citizens, Mc Cormack answered that that depended on daily assessments.

BRATISLAVA, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - Slovakia's Deputy Prime Minister and and Minister for Knowledge-Based Society, European Affairs, Human Rights and Minorities, Dusan Caplovic, has called Kosovo Drogo's land of drugs, and said that he will never vote for the province's independence. This is my opinion, he said. Everyone knows what is going on there, and we all know very well the routes of drugs, white slavery and weapons that lead to Europe, Caplovic said late on Tuesday, in a broadcast by Slovak TV JOJ, while commenting on the unilateral proclamation of the independence of the southern Serbian province. Slovak parliament speaker and leader of the Christian Democratic Movement, Pavol Hrusovsky, who also took part in the progamme, assessed that something was happening which had never happened before, TSR reported. All the powerful people from certain countries, who are aware of the fact that the basic principles of international law have been violated and that a new country has been created by its secession from another state, without the approval of that particular state, easily recognise such a country, Hrusovsky said.

BAKU, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - A unilateral recognition of Kosovo independence is contrary to international regulations and it does not represent a precedent for the dispute over Nagorno Karabakh, Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov said on Wednesday. If Armenia acknowledges Kosovo's independence, that will be still another move contrary to international regulations, Azimov said in an interview, the Russian media reported. Such a move would not come as a surprise to me, and such a situation will create problems in Armenia itself, rather than here," he added. The Azerbaijani deputy foreign minister said that he expected from the future Armenian president to act in keeping with international law. According to the preliminary results, former PM Sarkisjan, born in Nagorno Karabakh, an Armenan enclave that seceded from Azerbaijan, won at the Tuesday presidential elections.

ZAGREB, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader said on Wednesday that Serbia was in a difficult spot and that Croatia was not about to make matters worse for it, and reiterated that his country would recognise Kosovo when the time came for that and when the majority of EU countries do so. Sanader, who was speaking in Croatia's parliament said that recognition was within government competence and that he was against the issue being debated in parliament, and added that Croatia's obligation was to pursue the common foreign and security policy of EU members. "We want goodneighnourly relations with Serbia and to resolve problems that have remained after the war," the Croatian prime minister said.

BANJA LUKA, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - Republika Srpska (RS) Prime Minister Milorad Dodik has called for a level-headed reaction in the process of adopting a decision on the occasion of Kosovo's self-proclaimed independence and added that the decision could be based on a joint decision of the RS top officials. A joint statement by the president, prime minister and RS parliament speaker is a solid basis for the document which the parliament should adopt on the occasion of the self-proclaimed independence of Kosovo, Dodik said. "Of, course, I am not a man who has no emotions, who would not like to get many things right away, but some things are just not realistic," he said. "In any case, we have to do many of these things slowly, level-headedly, wisely. Any hasty moves can bring more harm than good," Dodik said. Commenting on the announcement of the Serb Movement of non-government associations that they would demand a referendum on RS secession from BiH, Dodik said that the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, he was at the head of, would demand such a referendum in case that RS was to be denied, which was not what Kosovo independence did to it. "Such a referendum should be a step that would be made when it proves to be the most important and most needed. I raised this issue when they tried to underestimate RS," Dodik said.

PRISTINA, Feb 19 (Tanjug) - Kosovo interim Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said Tuesday that the security situation in northern Kosovo is now under control after serious incidents earlier in the day. The situation in the north is under NATO control, he told a joint press conference with European Union High Representative for foreign policy and security Javier Solana. No incident can mar the magnificent celebration in Kosovo, which is united and undivided as its territorial integrity is inviolable, guaranteed and internationally recognized, Thaci said. Everything is under NATO control, he said, describing the developments in the north as isolated incidents and emphasizing that the security situation in Kosovo is calm.

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, Feb 19 (Tanjug) - President of the Serb People's Council of northern Kosovo Milan Ivanovic told Tanjug late on Tuesday that the closure of two administrative crossings towards central Serbia, near Leposavic and Zubin Potok, violated the local Serbs' right to the freedom of movement. Ivanovic said that the UNMIK's decision represented an attempt to exclude the northern part of the province from Serbia. "Does this mean that patients from the Kosovska Mitrovica hospital will not be able to be transported to central Serbia to be treated and will we be able to get the necessary medications or oxygen for our hospital,". He added that this decision of the international administration in Kosovo represented an attempt to place Serbs in a ghetto and stressed that this could result in a further destabilisation of the situation in this part of the province. UNMIK spokesman Ivanko told Tanjug in a statement on Tuesday that KFOR forces were presently at the checkpoints and that the UN police and customs service would return to the checkpoints after 24 hours.

PRISTINA, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - The UN mission in Kosovo will, until it receives further instructions, will continue to consider Resolution 1244 the legal framework for its mandate in the southern Serbian province, UNMIK chief Joachim Ruecker said. Awaiting further instructions from New York, UNMIK would continue to consider Resolution 1244 as the legal framework for its mandate, Ruecker said following meeting in Pristina with EU High Representative for the CFSP Javier Solana. Present at the meeting were Kfor commander Gen. Xavier de Marnac and representatives of the European Union. According to the UN Mission in Kosovo, Ruecker said that just as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had said, recent developments would most probably have operational implications for UNMIK. He said he expected New York to send soon detailed instructions on the way UNMIK was to cooperate with EULEKS, and added that the UN and EU had an excellent cooperation in Kosovo and that he was quite certain it would remain that way.

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - The northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica is peaceful on Wednesday morning, the streets are full of people, and all the shops and the many cafes and restaurants are open. Because of Kfor's blockade of two check points in northern Kosovo, on the administrative line with Serbia, at Jarinje near Leposavic and Brnjak near Zubin Potik, the daily press from central Serbia arrived in Kosovska Mitrovica somewhat less than three hours late, and local distributes used detour, forest routes. Dairy products from central Serbia into the northern part of K. Mitrovica did not arrive Wednesday morning.

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - Serbian National Council of Northern Kosovo leader Milan Ivanovic said on Wednesday that the security situation in north Kosovo was deteriorating. UNMIK chief Joachim Ruecker's decision to close administrative crossings towards central Serbia, at Jarinje and Brnjak, are sitll in force. Foodstuffs have not arrived, while detour village roads to north Kosovo were used to bring the daily press and bread. "Apparently the security situation in the north of the province is deteriorating and inappropriate actions of Kfor and UNMIK, on orders of Albanians institutions and Rueacker, have been followed by the taking of destabilising measures," Ivanovic said. "There can be no customs posts in the north and no Albanians can be stationed there, as that would lead to destabilisation," the SNV leader said.

VIENNA, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - The Austrian government decided on Wednesday to recognize the unilateral declaration of the independence of Kosovo and Metohija. The Austrian Foreign Ministry confirmed to Tanjug that the formal recognition of Kosovo could take place most probably next Monday, after President Heinz Fischer returns from a visit to Africa. Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer told reporters that the government also decided to establish diplomatic relations with Kosovo. Gusenbauer expressed belief that, following the unilateral declaration of the independence of Kosovo, Serbia would accept the offer of european integrations.

OSLO, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - Norway on Wednesday decided to recognize the independence of Kosovo, three days after the unilateral and illegal declaration of the independence of Serbia's southern province. Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store gave several reasons for such a decision, including the belief of his government that it is highly unlikely that a continuation of the talks could result in a solution with regards the status of Kosovo. Store added that he expects that the NATO troops would remain in Kosovo for a long time.

MOSCOW, February 20 (Tanjug) - In the case of Kosovo and Metohija province, double standards are in effect, when unilateral moves are being made in spite of a United Nations Security Council resolution, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.

In the case of the question of Cyprus, everyone is acting within the frameworks of international law and not even considering making unilateral moves outside the frameworks of the relevant UN Security Council resolution, while the opposite thing is happening in the case of Kosovo, Lavrov said after talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babajan. Lavrov said that Serbia's territorial integrity was confirmed not only by Security Council Resolution 1244, but also by Resolution 1785, which confirmed the dedication of the UN Security Council to a political settlement of all conflicts in the territory of former Yugoslavia, together with the preservation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all the countries of that region.

"The European Union (EU) is sending its mission to Kosovo unilaterally, without the approval of the UN Security Council, with the task of ensuring the supremacy of law. This is bitter irony. The EU mission is being sent there in violation of international law," Lavrov said, as carried by the Itar-Tass news agency. "We are being told that Resolution basis for sending the EU mission and for the unilateral proclamation of Kosovo's independence. This is not true. Resolution No. 1244 mentions a transitional period, but it should last until the negotiating parties reach a final political settlement," Lavrov was quoted as saying by Itar-Tass. "It is common knowledge that the talks for finding a way to the political settlement were artificially broken up because of the interference from the outside," the agency quoted the foreign minister as saying.

MOSCOW/BISHKEK, February 20 (Tanjug) - The unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo-Metohija may result in the strengthening of separatist efforts throughout the world, the Kyrgyzstan's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday and added that the country would not state its stand on the act before the UN Security Council made its final decision.

According to Itar-Tass, the Ministry said that "in accordance with the UN resolution 1244, the United Nations plays the cardinal role in the peace process. Kyrgyzstan confirms its respect for and allegiance to the United Nations principles." Bishkek also invited the parties in the conflict to resolve the disputed issue "through the negotiating process in the framework of international law and international security." The Ministry invited the UN mission to ensure equal rights and security for all ethnic groups in the province.

BRUSSELS, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn and EU Council of Ministers President, Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, said at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday that Serbs should turn the Kosovo leaf and focus on the EU integration.

Addressing the MEPs, Rehn said that this was a difficult moment for Serbs, but that it was time for Serbia to turn the leaf and focus on the EU integration. He said that Kosovo had declared independence in a dignified way and with full observation of the Martti Ahtisaari proposal. The EU commissioner said that the atmosphere in Pristina was joyous and condemned violence in Belgrade and northern Kosovo.

The EU door is not closed to Serbia, Rupel said and added that Serbia needed the European Union and that the European Union needed Serbia. Rupel said that the European Union hoped that after the election of Boris Tadic for the president, Serbia would be able to get out of the period of isolation. He noted that Serbia and Kosovo would have to cooperate in future.

BELGRADE, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - Serbian Foreign Ministry addressed Wednesday protest notes to the governments of Latvia and Senegal on their recognition of unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo-Metohija.

The note expresses the Serbian government's stand of rejection of the unlawful unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo-Metohija and points to possible consequences this illegal act could have for security, the ministry said in a release.

STRASBOURG, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said on Wednesday before the Council of Europe ministerial committee in Strasbourg that should it consider Pristina's request for membership it would be breeching the principled position of the organization not to interfere in the decision making process on the future status of the province. Moreover, that would make the Council of Europe an accessory to the flagrant violation of international law and call into question its commitment to its own values, Jeremic said in a speech seen by Tanjug.

He underlined that "Kosovo for Serbia is not a territory as any other, but the cradle of our identity." This flagrant violation of the basic principles of international law has exposed to derision the universal principles built into the UN Charter and enhanced in the European space by the Stature of the Council of Europe and the Helsinki Final Act, the Serbian foreign minister said at a closed meeting of the CE ministerial committee. He underscored that the unilateral, illegal and illegitimate declaration of the independence of Kosovo and Metohija had made the world a worse place. The world has changed but not for the better. On the contrary, the result of this inimical act by Pristina authorities is that the international order has become less stable, less secure, Jeremic said.

STRASBOURG, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said on Wednesday in his remarks before the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament in Strasbourg that the Republic of Serbia shall not tolerate the illegal act of secession and that the Serbian Government and National Assembly have declared this action by the authorities in Pristina null and void. Following is the text of Jeremic's remarks:

"I stand before you this afternoon as a proud European, and as an ashamed European." "Proud because my heritage, my culture, my beliefs, and my history bind me to a constellation of nations that, at the onset of the 21st century, reconciled themselves, and created something so magnificent that one could say: 'there has truly never been anything else like it in the history of the world.' "

"Winston Churchill equated the feeling I am trying to describe to you with a 'sense of enlarged patriotism.' That was his vision of Europe, and Jean Monet's vision of Europe, and Konrad Adenauer's vision of Europe. It is a vision I proudly share. For the peoples of Europe, between whom rivers of blood have flowed without mercy, chose to end the feuds of a thousand years. And they sought to eliminate from their shores a zero-sum approach to the conduct of regional politics." "How could I not be proud? How could I not, until just a few days ago, without the faintest shadow of a doubt, support the aspirations of my country to join the European Union, and therefore welcome the EU's commitment to the incorporation of Serbia and all the Western Balkans within its welcoming boundaries?" But I am also a deeply ashamed European. Tacitus wrote: Deserta faciunt et pacem appellant: 'They create a desolation and they call it peace.' That is what some European Union countries have done to the Republic of Serbia, to a small, peace-loving, democratic country in Europe, a founding member of the United Nations, an original signatory to the Helsinki Final Act, and a pillar of stability in Southeast Europe." Creating desolation out of the promise of a European future. This is what the governments of some of your countries have done by recognizing the unilateral, illegal and illegitimate declaration of independence of the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government of Serbia's southern province of Kosovo and Metohija."

"I am ashamed not as a Serb - for in the negotiating process on the future status of our province of Kosovo, we did nothing but demonstrate good faith and understanding for the legitimate rights of the other side. In fact, since the democratic overthrow of the regime of Slobodan Milosevic in October 2000, we have done almost everything right. We have overcome almost every obstacle. We have fulfilled almost every condition. We have embraced almost every standard. And we have taken on every challenge to our future with an optimism that thinkers like Alexis de Tocqueville thought had departed the Old Continent long ago.""I am ashamed as a European. As someone who knows in his heart that what has been done to Serbia is a fundamental violation of the very nature of not just the international system, but of the values that hold up the European construction." "I am ashamed, because if recognizing this act of ethnically-motivated secession from a democratic, European state is not wrong, then nothing is wrong." "I am ashamed, because I see how the bedrock of values that make us who we are is being trampled underfoot. Because I see how my fellow Europeans are trying to construct the future on a foundation of sand and rubble." "And I am ashamed, because for all the talk about reason and Enlightenment, for all the pious declinations on the common good and solidarity, Europe is rapidly becoming just another place where might makes right." "Some may say I have exaggerated. Well, let us turn to the matter at hand."

"The institution with primary responsibility to maintain international peace and security is, according to the United Nations Charter, the Security Council. And, in 1999, following the 78-day bombing of my country, it adopted a resolution-still operative today-that conferred upon the UN the authority to administer Serbia's southern province of Kosovo, and explicitly and unambiguously reaffirmed the sovereignty and territorial integrity of my country. When Serbia was ruled by a tyrant, Kosovo was a confirmed part of Serbia." "It said so in Security Council Resolution 1244. And it went further than that. It placed a Chapter VII obligation-a binding obligation-on all the member-states of the United Nations to respect the borders of my country." "And now, when Serbia is a democracy, some European nations are prepared to recognize Kosovo as an independent state. They say, in effect, we did not punish the tyrant, but now we will punish a democracy-a European democracy-and we expect its citizens to take it." "They say Kosovo can be independent, while saying that 1244 in its entirety still applies, including, presumably, that part that reaffirms Serbian sovereignty over Kosovo. And they send an EU-led mission to our province without the approval of the Security Council, even though paragraphs 5 and 19 of 1244 make it abundantly clear that only the Security Council can do that."

"And yesterday, at an emergency session of the Permanent Council, no European ambassador could explain to anyone with any degree of reason why what is being done to Serbia is not a violation of the core principles of the Helsinki Final Act." "They could not explain to me why what they are doing is not setting a dangerous, precedent that will create very troubling consequences to the stability of Europe and the whole world. ""Recognizing the unilateral declaration of Kosovo's independence from Serbia legitimizes the doctrine of imposing solutions to ethnic conflicts." "It legitimizes the act of unilateral secession by a provincial or local entity." "It transforms the right to self-determination into an avowed right to independence." "It legitimizes the forced partition of internationally-recognized, sovereign states. ""And it violates the commitment to the peaceful resolution of disputes in Europe.""It even resurrects the discredited Cold War doctrine of limited sovereignty." "By the actions of some European Union member-states, every would-be ethnic or religious separatist across Europe and around the world has been provided with a tool kit on how to achieve recognition. Does anyone in this room think that the Kosovo Albanians are the only group in the world with a grievance against their capital?""Do any of you honestly think that just by saying that Kosovo is sui generis, you will make it so? That there will be no consequences to the stability and security of the international system, just because you say it won't?" "Is this the way proud Europeans behave? Is this the way European values are put into practice? Is this the way to treat friends?" "Notwithstanding everything I have witnessed and all that my country has gone through, I have not lost faith in Europe, even though I am ashamed by the actions of some within it."

"I have not lost faith in Europe because I still hold out a measure of hope that Europe will live up to its values; that Europe will pause for a moment and recall the principles that drive its own decision-making in Brussels and Strasbourg. I'm talking about compromise, concession, and consensus-building. That's how it works: by engaging in a process of deliberate, patient, and sustained, good-faith negotiations until a compromise is struck that all stakeholders can abide by." "In the case of Kosovo's future status, only a solution that is acceptable to the sides can be viable, sustainable, and lasting." "Only a negotiated solution can pave the way towards a common, European future." "Only such a solution can consolidate the regional gains made, reinforce the geo-strategic priorities achieved, and restore the drive for change in Southeast Europe.""The imposition of a one-sided outcome-the recognition of an independent Kosovo-does the opposite. It sets back the achievements of European visionaries in our region; it uncouples the Western Balkans from its future in Europe; and it fosters a view throughout the region that Europe is in the business of imposing outcomes.""This is where we are. It's a shameful place to be. And it's not where we should be." "Where we are is at the precipice, facing down into the shadows of uncertainty. Uncertainty over the future of the Western Balkans. Uncertainty over democracy in Serbia. Uncertainty over the safety of the Kosovo Serbs. And uncertainty over the fate of our holy sites-the central element of our national identity." "Yet we also face forward. We can see beyond the break, and beyond the discord. We can still see Europe for what it is, for what it can become, for what it can accomplish." "But also for what it can harm: the dreams of a proud, democratic, European country that has surmounted more obstacles since October 2000 than most other nations have in a hundred years." "I assure you, with the fortitude of a unified nation, Serbia will not go quietly. We shall strive for what is just, for what we believe in, for our future, for what is rightfully ours."

"The Republic of Serbia shall not tolerate this illegal act of secession. Our Government and National Assembly have declared this action by the authorities in Pristina null and void. And we shall undertake all diplomatic, political, measures designed to impede and reverse this direct and unprovoked attack on our sovereignty." "As a responsible member of the international community committed to the peaceful and negotiated resolution of disputes, the Republic of Serbia will not resort to the use of force. For violence cannot bring a peaceful settlement to any crisis. Violence only destroys-lives, property, hope, ambitions. It destroys everything and creates desolation." "We are for peace. We are for agreement. We are for concord. We are Europeans." "Kosovo shall remain a part of Serbia forever," the Serbian Foreign Minister concluded.

STRASBOURG, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said on Wednesday that the Serbian government does not support the outflow of emotions or the resorting to violence in Kosovo and Metohija. The Serbian government will never support violence, Jeremic told a press conference at the Council of Europe (CoE) in Strasbourg, which attracted a large number of foreign reporters.

He explained that the situation is very tense, not only in southern Serbia, but in the entire country. There is a collective feeling of injustice. People are hurt and they feel betrayed by those they considered their friends and partners, Jeremic said. And yet, Serbia will never advocate or support violence, Jeremic reiterated. The legal limbo that has been created with the illegal decision by the representatives of the interim institutions in Pristina to proclaim independence does not help toward the resolving of the situation, Jeremic pointed out.

VIENNA, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - Serbian Defence Ministry State Secretary Dusan Spasojevic invited in Vienna on Wednesday the international community to observe the fundamental principles of international law, national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the internationally recognized state of Serbia.

In a statement for Tanjug after the end of the OSCE Forum on cooperation in the field of security, Spasojevic said that the army would "fully carry out all orders that come from the state leadership," in view of the fact that the Serbian Army was under "full democratic civilian control." The ambassadors and military representatives of 56 OSCE member-states participated in the work of the OSCE Forum.

BELGRADE, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - Serbian Deputy Premier Bozidar Djelic on Wednesday, at a meeting with Romanian Ambassador in Belgrade Ion Macovei, said that the government and citizens of Serbia were extremely thankful to Romania for consistently respecting international awl and for not recognizing the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo and Metohija.

Ambassador Macovei and Deputy Premier Djelic concluded that there was a mutual interest to increase trade and cooperation between the two countries notably in the fields of energy, automobile and textile industries, a statement from the meeting said. As the first step in that direction was agreed a visit by Romanian businessmen and investors to Serbia, the statement said.

BELGRADE, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - Serbian Deputy Premier Bozidar Djelic said on Wednesday that the state will see that all relevant institutions, including those that help the development of small and medium-sized companies in Kosovo and Metohija, continue to function unhindered in that part of the territory of Serbia.

Speaking at a meeting of the Association of Small and Medium-Sized Companies of the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia, Djelic said that the Development Fund will continue to credit companies in Kosovo and Metohija. Minister of Economy and Regional Development Mladjan Dinkic is in Kosovo today, in order to present the instruments for the economic presence in the province, among other things, Djelic said. Djelic pointed out that Serbia does not recognize the self-proclaimed independence of Kosovo and that the state institutions will therefore continue their presence in the southern province. Serbia's budget for this year envisages 5.6 billion dinars for Kosovo and Metohija, including 1.3 billion earmarked for projects from the National Investment Plan, Djelic said.

BELGRADE, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - Secondary school and university students protested throughout Serbia on Wednesday against the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo-Metohija and Serbs who were expelled and displaced from Kosovo also raised their voice against the unilateral decision on Kosovo's secession from Serbia. Several hundred young people from Novi Sad on Wednesday protested peacefully, carrying Serbian flags and posters with the message "Kosovo is Serbia."

Several thousand university students from Nis protested under the slogan "It will remain ours" and they were joined by the Nis University Rectorate and professors and students from Vranje and Leskovac. Students of the state University in Novi Pazar on Wednesday condemned the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo-Metohija and supported the legal and diplomatic efforts of the Serbian government to preserve the country's territorial integrity. Protests were also organized in Serb communities in Kosovo-Metohija - in Strpce and northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica.

RANILUG, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - Serbian Minister of Labor and Social Policy Rasim Ljajic on Wednesday visited the villages of Ranilug and Gradjenik in Kosovsko Pomoravlje, where he handed over to the Welfare Centre the keys to a van for the needs of welfare beneficiaries.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy said in a statement that Ljajic had handed over humanitarian packages to the remaining eight Serb families in the village of Gradjenik, which has a population of 15. This is the first in a series of activities of the Serbian Ministry of Labor and Social Policy with the aim of helping the neediest in Kosovo-Metohija, the statement said. According to the KIM radio, Ljajic said that the main goal of his visit was to give moral support to Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija.

"The Serbian government's decision is to have ministers in Kosovo-Metohija as frequently as possible, that all government institutions operate and function, that citizens feel that nothing has changed in this respect," Ljajic said.

ZVECAN, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - Serbian Economy and Regional Development Minister Mladjan Dinkic said in Zvecan on Wednesday that sections of the government's Action Plan which pertain to his ministry, call for establishing the state's full economic sovereignty over Serb communities in Kosovo and Metohija. Speaking to the representatives of the municipalities of northern Kosovo and Metohija, the district heads and government coordinators for the Serb enclaves, Dinkic stated that the economic section of the Action Plan has four points which are based on economic development and the opening of new jobs in order to enable the Serbs in the province to realize their livelihood.

Dinkic said that the Action Plan firstly calls for the incorporation of all socially-owned companies in Kosovo and Metohija into Serbia's economic system. Starting from March this year, subsidies to socially-owned companies will be regular, Dinkic stated, adding that in the coming period one of the aims of the Privatization Agency will be to conduct the processes of ownership transformation of socially-owned companies in Kosovo and Metohija. According to Dinkic, the second point of the Action Plan is the development of agriculture and private entrepreneurship with the aim of creating conditions for economic development in these spheres and opening new jobs.

Dinkic announced the urgent implementation of two programs: organization of public works in all areas populated by the Serbs and the stimulation of self-employment programs in Kosovo. The overall development of entrepreneurship in Kosovo and Metohija is the third point of the Action Plan, Dinkic stated, announcing the opening of a regional office of the Agency for Regional Development in the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica, and its branches in the Morava River Kosovo region. Dinkic pointed out that the development of tourism is also a part of the Action Plan, with special focus on the Strpce municipality. He said that in the next two weeks the Serbian government would adopt a decision on setting up a new company which will incorporate the public company "Skijalista Serbija" (Serbia's Ski Centers) and Inex Interexport and which will take over the property and assume all management rights over the Brezovica ski center. He warned that the problem of electric power supplies to the Strpce municipality should urgently be resolved by building a mini hydro-electric power plant for that area.

ZVECAN, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - Minister of Economy and Regional Development Mladjan Dinkic on Wednesday announced that the Serbian government will finance the recovery of 11 companies with majority social capital in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija province through new investments. Speaking during a visit to the mining-smelting complex Trepca near Zvecan, Dinkic said the objective of the Serbian government and his Ministry is that jobs should be secured for as many people as possible so that they could continue living in the southern province. In a talk with the Trepca management and the local businessmen, Dinkic pointed out that the government and the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development will insist that the privatization processes of Serbian companies in the province takes place through the Privatization Agency, once the production processes are restored.

Dinkic arrived in Leposavic shortly after noon today, following countless problems in crossing the administrative line with Kosovo and Metohija province. The delegation comprising members of the Ministry and party officials, led by Dinkic, was compelled to use alternate routes in order to enter the territory of the southern Serbian province because the Rudnica Crossing was closed in keeping with a decision of UNMIK Chief Joachim Ruecker, Tanjug was told at the Information Service of the G17 Plus party, of which Dinkic is president.

DECANI, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - Serbian Minister without portfolio Dragan Djilas, in charge of the National Investment Plan, said on Wednesday in the Monastery of Visoki Decani that Serbia's concern for Kosovo and Metohija must not be reflected in statements and rallies alone, but with concrete economic assistance that should enable the dignified life of Serbian citizens in that southern province. Djilas is on a Serbian government delegation visiting the Monastery and Velika Hoca.

The delegation also includes Minister of Agriculture Slobodan Milosavljevic, whose Ministry presented 400,000 dinars to the Monastery for the development of agricultural activities, the KIM Information Service reported. Milosavljevic called on farmers in Kosovo and Metohija to register with the relevant state institutions in order to be able to apply for funds from the state agrarian fund. The ministers underscored that the role of the medieval Monastery of Visoki Decani is of great importance not only for the preservation of the spiritual and cultural identity of Serbs in Metohija, but also for their tenable economic life. A delegation of the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development, led by Minister Mladjan Dinkic, is also visiting Kosovo and Metohija today.

Secretaries of state Verica Kalanovic for regional development, Goran Petkovic for tourism, and Vladimir Ilic for employment, are also visiting the southern Serbian province today. Serbian Minister of Labor and Social Policy Rasim Ljajic is visiting the Kosovsko Pomoravlje Region. He visited the villages of Ranilug and Gradjenik. Minister Ljajic presented a van to the Center for Social Work of Ranilug. The vehicle will be used to meet the needs of the social insurance beneficiaries in the territory of Kosovsko Pomoravlje Region.

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - Serbian Minister of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry Slobodan Milosavljevic said Wednesday that his ministry will provide assistance to Serb farmers in Kosovo-Metohija in spring sowing.

The Serbian government will provide seeds and everything else the farmers will need, he told Most TV in Zvecan. All surpluses of farming produce will be bought from Serb farmers in Kosovo, he added.

PRISTINA, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - UNMIK Spokesperson Alexander Ivanko said on Wednesday that United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 1244 is in force and that UNMIK continues its implementation in Kosovo.

Resolution 1244 is being implemented, taking into consideration the reality in the field, Ivanko told a press conference in Pristina, when asked whether UNMIK will respect the resolution article stating that Kosovo province is an integral part of Serbia and under the protectorate of the international community. UNMIK is following instructions issued by the UN secretary-general, Ivanko specified.

KFOR Spokesperson Bertrand Bonneau told reporters that it had not been possible for the international military forces in Kosovo to predict yesterday's developments in the north of the province. Bonneau confirmed that the administrative crossings of Jarinje and Brnjak are closed, but said that ambulances being allowed through. KFO was not at the checkpoints yesterday, because their protection is not within the mandate of the KFOR, but with UNMIK, and KFOR has nothing to do with the borders of Kosovo, the spokesperson said.

Speaking at the same press conference, Kosovo Police Service (KPS) Spokesperson Veton Elshani said the police stations in Brnjak and Jarinje are closed, and announced that the police will soon launch an investigation against the organizers and participants in yesterday's incidents in northern Kosovo. There are television films. The KPS and UNMIK police have been heard and the KPS will make conclusions about what happened there. The material damage is substantial, but there were no casualties. All the circumstances will be looked into, Elshani said.

PRISTINA, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - KFOR Commander, Lieutenant General Xavier Bout de Marnhac said on Wednesday that certain leaders of Serbs from northern Kosovo and Metohija are behind the incidents that occurred at the Jarinje and Brnjak control checkpoints, but did not name any names, Pristina-based Albanian-language electronic media reported.

Certain local leaders from northern Kosovo have taken on themselves considerable responsibility, including to risk the lives of women and children in yesterday's operation, the KFOR commander was quoted as saying, commenting on the torching of the police and customs checkpoints near Jarinje and Brnjak.

MITROVICA, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - The checkpoints in Jarinje and Brnjak, in northern Kosovo, were re-opened to traffic at 3 pm on Wednesday, Kosovo Police Service (KPS) spokesman Veton Elshani has told Tanjug. The spokesman said that controls at the checkpoints would be carried out by UNMIK and Kfor.

He added that KPS would not be stationed at the checkpoints in Jarinje and Brnjak until security conditions for this are created. On Tuesday at 6 pm the UNMIK chief ordered the blockade of traffic at both administrative checkpoints in northern Kosovo following incidents in which several hundred Serbs torched police containers and several police and UNMIK vehicles.

PRISTINA, Feb 20 (Tanjug) - The Kosovo parliament on Wednesday adopted a number of laws, including the law on citizenship and passports, Pristina-based Albanian-language media reported.

The bill on the Foreign Ministry has not been adopted, after the "ad hoc parliamentary commission" had certain objections. Nine laws were adopted at the session, stemming from the proposal for the resolution of Kosovo's status of former international mediator Martti Ahtisaari. The Kosovo parliament adopted laws on the privileges and diplomatic immunity, citizenship, police, police inspectorate, passports, use of state symbols, special protected zones, local self-rule and administrative borders. Under the Ahtisaari proposal, 34 new legal acts should be adopted.